Champions League Final moved from St Petersburg to Paris

UEFA has moved the Champions League final on May 28 to Paris from St Petersburg, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The UEFA executive committee held an emergency meeting on Friday and decided to move the showpiece to the Stade de France from the 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena in Vladimir Putin’s home city.

Following UEFA’s move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call: “It’s a shame that such a decision has been made.

“St Petersburg could have provided all favourable conditions to hold this festival of soccer.”

Manchester United have taken the decision to drop their commercial partnership with Russian state airline Aeroflot following the invasion of Ukraine.

European football’s governing body is coming under increasing pressure to cut ties with key sponsor Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company.

UEFA’s executive committee also said Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.

This is set to affect Spartak Moscow in the Europa League – who were paired with RB Leipzig in Friday’s draw – and also Russia and Ukraine in the 2022-23 Nations League which is due to get under way in June.